The pandemic was an unexpected rainmaker for Palm Beach County real estate agents. Buyers flooded in from the Northeast, setting off explosive growth for the region and record prices. But no one really thought the newcomers, and the market they made, would last.
Rather than return to the homes they left behind in the Northeast, Chicago and California, the majority of Palm Beach County’s pandemic buyers stayed put. Years later, they’re looking to plant their roots more firmly in the community, fueling a house-hopping market across the region.
Many of these buyers bought homes during the pandemic frenzy, when tours were over FaceTime and there was no time to ask questions about the condition of the roof, the generator, or how expensive the insurance was. These days, agents say buyers know the lay of the land better and they’re methodically shopping for homes that are a better long-term fit.
“When Covid buyers were coming, it was more of a place to escape to and run to,” said Chris Leavitt, a top agent with Douglas Elliman in Palm Beach. Now, he says buyers are more discerning and want to get “the right place.”
“I thought for sure when their lifestyle was back open for business, they would sell,” said David Roberts of Royal Palm Properties. “I’m glad I was wrong.”
Wrong he was. Record sales closed in rapid succession in the first half of the year, followed by a pre-election lull and a post-election boom.
The top 25 agent teams in Palm Beach County closed $6.1 billion in on-market deals in 2024, according to The Real Deal’s analysis of sales in the 12-month period ending on Jan. 1, 2025. That’s up from the $4.4 billion of on-market sales measured in the previous year’s ranking.
In some ways the ranking is much like last year’s. Roberts once again took first place, with $636.1 million in on-market sales. He is one of many ranked agents who specialize in the county’s luxury gated communities. Some found their way to the top selling the county’s trophy estates, while others sold large quantities of lower-priced homes.
Behind the numbers
Following Roberts were Christian Angle of Christian Angle Real Estate, Gary Pohrer of Douglas Elliman, Suzanne Frisbie with the Corcoran Group and Margit Brandt with Premier Estate Properties. They are all members of the tightly knit cadre of top agents in Palm Beach, which has become the epicenter of America’s ultra-luxury real estate market in recent years.
Frisbie, who ranked fourth with $418.7 million, and Elliman agent Chris Leavitt, who ranked eighth with $256.7 million, had the listing for Tarpon Island, which sold for $150 million in May. It was the most expensive home sale in Florida in 2024. Brandt, who placed fifth with $319.3 million, brought the buyer, Australian infrastructure mogul Michael Dorrell.
But Palm Beach is a market where a significant portion of deals are made behind closed doors, away from the prying eyes on the Multiple Listing Service. The second most expensive sale of the year was billionaire heir Daren Metropoulos’ $148 million off-market purchase of the 3.2-acre historic oceanfront estate Casa Amado. Angle had the pocket listing. Even without the deal counted, he ranked second and closed $549.3 million in on-market deals.
“I thought for sure when their lifestyle was back open for business, they would sell. I’m glad I was wrong.”
Among the top-ranked agents, Roberts is an outlier — he does not do business in Palm Beach. Instead, he specializes in the Royal Palm Yacht & Country Club, a gated community and Boca Raton’s most expensive neighborhood. It was a record-breaking year for Royal Palm, with a string of pricey closings in the first and second quarters. The flurry of activity hit a crescendo in May with spec developers Steve and Scott Dingle dropping $36 million on a teardown, making it the most expensive home ever sold in Boca Raton. Roberts represented the Dingles in the deal.
No matter which niche or neighborhood Palm Beach County brokers are working in, though, the same set of dynamics are shaping their business. New construction is king, and pricing is everything.
“Unrealistic sellers are not doing so well,” said Elliman’s Nick Malinosky, Pohrer’s partner in the Exclusive Group that ranked third and closed $517.5 million in on-market sales.
Something old, something new
South Florida buyers have been prioritizing new homes for years, but the demand, and the severity of their expectations, are more pronounced than ever, agents say.
“The standard for what move-in ready is has shifted dramatically,” said Senada Adzem, an agent with Elliman who ranked 13th with $225.1 million. Buyers often want not just a beautiful, well-built home now, she said. “They want designer furniture, they want dishware, kitchenware.”
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As an example, Brandt pointed to the $60.4 million sale of 130 Banyan Road in Palm Beach in May. The seller was renowned interior designer Victoria Hagan and her husband, Michael Berman, who renovated and meticulously designed the 1-acre estate after buying it for $11.1 million in 2020.
“Anything renovated, built immaculately will sell for a premium,” Brandt said. “Projects that take time don’t command the same pricing.”
Time is worth more than money for the luxury buyers in South Florida, agents say. Construction is such a headache that even spec developers aren’t always willing to take it on these days, causing a bottleneck in the supply of newly built homes. Prices for land, labor and materials are soaring, and fears are mounting that those prices will continue upward with President Donald Trump’s economic policies, according to Adzem.
While apprehension is mounting for some, other buyers are coming around to building for themselves, even in Palm Beach, where development is tightly controlled by the Architectural Commission (Arcom). After sitting on the market for nearly two years, billionaire beauty heir William Lauder has found a buyer for 2.3 vacant oceanfront acres that were listed for $177.8 million. It’s a landmark deal for the island.
“Even though Arcom’s a nightmare, people are saying, ‘You know what, I’m going to build my dream home,’” said Leavitt. “That’s major investment in Palm Beach. Those numbers will now dictate the price of land.”
The price is right
Aside from buyers preferring new homes, agents say that deals are taking longer, and price is the most important tool they have for getting something sold.
“People have to be patient,” said Dana Koch, an agent with the Corcoran Group in Palm Beach who ranked 23rd with $119.6 million. “It’s just more difficult to put the deal together. Buyers are very fickle, sellers are very fickle.”
Anything that’s sitting on the market for a long time is probably overpriced, Koch and other agents say. And buyers aren’t willing to engage with unrealistic sellers.
“[Buyers] don’t want to waste time. If they’re going to make a decision, they actually want to close on a property,” said Malinosky. His partner, Pohrer, added that agents pricing listings too high are gumming up the market.
“It’s exhausting to navigate your clients through,” Pohrer said.
Even with pricing sensitivity at play, brokers are optimistic about the state of the market. Trump’s win kicked off a booming busy season ahead of schedule, and many agents are already sitting on nine-figure pending volumes.
“I don’t want to jinx anything,” said Brandt. “[But] the demand is there and the buyers are here.”
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